Driver and three passengers dead at Wardell in NSW

Three people—two men and a woman—as well as the male driver perished at the site.

Police suspect that the four, who have not yet been formally identified, comprise a woman in her 20s and three males in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.  Instead of the four being related by blood, the police think they were buddies.

It is thought they lived in the Northern Rivers region, but not in Wardell or the nearby pod village used to house flood survivors.

Detectives from Richmond Police District are now investigating the cause of the crash and have told the ABC the car accident occurred earlier in the night and was only discovered by a passer-by at 5:45am.

A crime scene has been established involving specialist police from the state’s crash investigation unit.

Richmond Police District Inspector Mary Tanner said it was not known what caused the crash, and who was driving at the time.

“That’s obviously still under investigation, but it appears there may have been at least two that weren’t wearing seat belts,” she said.

Inspector Tanner said the utility was not registered to a local address, but “at this stage we don’t believe the vehicle was stolen”.